(Fortune Magazine) -- Take advantage of contribution increases in your qualified plans to beef up your savings. The maximum amount that workers under age 50 can contribute to their
401(k)s rose this year to $15,000, up from $14,000 last year. If you're 50 or older at any time this year, you can set aside a total of $20,000, up from $18,000 last year.

But the big news this season involves cash. It's a real asset class again. "There are hundreds of billions of dollars earning between 1 and 3 percent," says Bruce Bent, creator of
the first money-market fund. "There's no reason anybody should be earning less than 4 percent."

Hunt for options for your short-term cash at bankrate.com; as of late September, the top yield was 5.27 percent from UFBdirect.com. And most discount brokerages are offering highly
competitive rates for certificates of deposit and money-market accounts.